Mahindra S101 (XUV100/KUV100) to be launched in 3rd week of January 2016: Report

The compact SUV will rival against sub five lakh hatchbacks in India.

Mahindra & Mahindra has been testing its new compact SUV codenamed S101 for quite some time now. The vehicle caught undergoing testing with heavy camouflage many times in 2015 alone. The launch was expected before 2015-end.

A report from ET Auto states it has been confirmed that the vehicle will be launched in the third week of January 2016. The compact, with rumored names XUV100 and KUV100, will be the star vehicle at the Mahindra stall at the 2016 Auto Expo in February.

Although the company will position the S101 as compact SUV, the vehicle will ultimately go up against the likes of Hyundai Eon, Maruti's Wagon R and Celerio and the Renault Kwid. This is because of the rumored pricing around Rs 4 lakh. Mahindra is reportedly looking to add a vehicle in the pseudo-SUVish hatchback segment with S101 in which the first entrant is Renault Kwid.

The Mahindra S101, the sub-4-metre micro-SUV that is currently in its testing phase in India, will be built on an all-new monocoque platform and is likely to be powered by 1.2-litre diesel and petrol mills. As for transmission, the micro-SUV could get manual and AMT gear boxes.

Inside the cabin, the S101 is likely to get piano-black accent to the centre console with a chrome touch around it, on the AC vents and on the steering wheel. Other features speculated include the gear-lever mounted on the dashboard and door panels with silver and piano-black accents.